Air-cooling apparatus.



W. A. MERRALLS'.

AIR COOLING APPARATUS.

' APPLICATION FILED 001. 26, 1907.

Patentd June 1, 1909.

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W. A. MERRALLS. AIR COOLING APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED OUT. 26, 1907.

Patented June v1, 1909.

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. oration whereby its heat I In the preferred embodiment of the invenvessel.

ventilating s WILLIAM :ED STATES PATENT-OFFICE.

A. MERRALLS, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALII ORDIIA.

AIR-COOLING APPARATUS.

To all wlwm'it ma comm.-

Be it known th BALLS, a citizen. of the United States, residing at San Francisco, in" the countv of San Fran- 01800 and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Air- Cooling Apparatus, of which the following is a specification. I I

The object of this invention is to provide an a1r-cooling apparatus for dwellings, oflice buildings and other structures, whereby fresh and cool air may be continuously supplied without the emplo ment of ice orof refrigerating apparatus epending u'pou-jthe cooling effect of expanding ases.

According to the preferred vention the air is .cooled b transferrmg heat therefrom to a body of 'quid, which is in turn cooled by transference, of heat to a liquid exposed under conditions for rapid evapbc-omes latent.

tlon, the-apparatus comprises a vessel having an exterior porous cover atJI, WILLIAM A. Man-.

formof my in-.

, means for jsup- 4 Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed October 28, 1907.

Patented June 1, 1909. Serial No. 399,810. v

I set com rising three superposed rectangular vessels ecreasmg diameter from senes. Theseries may diverge slightly from each other toward one end of the casing, in which I have shown fans 33'.-for directing a current of air upon the several vessels.

4 indicates the outlet for moisture-laden air from the casing, .trollin the same. Eac 1 vessel2 is illustrated number of open-ended abutting sections 6, each-traversed by a suitable number of airconduits 7, mounted in tube-sheets 8' forming a liquid-tight joint with the walls of the several sections. Whenthe sections are mounted as shown the air-conduits form asubstantially continuous tube extending-from end to end of the vessel. The use of a number of progressive] y in horizontal multiplying the i number of sections cmplying water to the coyerin and for direct mg a current of air u V mote evaporation of t water, air-con uits traversin the vessel, and a body of liquid constituting a heat-transferring means between the air conduits and the-walls of the For a full understanding of my invention reference is made totheaccompan drawings showing one embodimen t ereof, wherein- A Figure 1 1s a plan view of one type of cooler, Fig. 2 is acentral vertical section of the same on line 252 of Fig. 1 and Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical section of a like construction of somewhat greater cooling capacity. b

Referring to the drawm s, 1 represents a casing suitably located wit reference to the structure to be cooled, and usuall in the up per portion of the same in order t lat the cool air may descend totheseveral rooms of the nit e same to robuilding as desired 'QIXOU h flu'es rovided for the purpose. Obflous y a force or posiapparatus may be 'ployed. As shown the apparatus is designed to sub'ect the air to be cooled to the successive e ect of the-several vessels constituting each series, and for this fiprpose flues 9 are provided between the en of adjacent vessels. "'Airdnlet flues 10 extend to a suitable source of supply of pure air, and are provided within the c with a gate or damper 11, adapted for control from the exterior of the casing.

Above each series of vessels and extending centrally over the same I have indicated water-supplypipes 12 which may be perforated throughout tieir length. Below the vessels is a catch-basin 13, provided at one end with may be applied as rea transverse channel 14 leading to a well from which the excess water is returned by a pump 15 to the discharge pipes 12.

16 represents a covering 0 orous material, applied to the exterior surl ace of the several vessels, and serving to expose the water undergom evaporation in the form of a thin film to tie air.

he operation of the cooling system is as follows: The pump 15 is operated to discharge water over and upon the upper ves sels of each series, whence it'flows m a sheet orfilm over the severalvessels,the excess being caught in the basin 13 and again dischar ed through the pipes 12 By means of the f ans 3. air 15 pro'eoted u on and over the several vessels, and a rapi eva oration of the bottom to the top of the and 5 a damper for con ascomprising a these sections 6 enables an apparatus of any desired length to be constructed by simply fabric, or other ferring heat from the speak, as

' ,the flues of the building particular purposes in view.

i supplying water to tion a large amount of heat is rendered latent 5 during this evaporation, and this heat is absorbed from the uiescent liquid contents of the several vesse s 9, a rapid fall in the temperature of which will follow. This body of liquid serves not only as a means of transpipes through which the air passes to the walls of the containing vessels and thence to the air passing over the moist surfaces thereof but also, so to an accumulator of cold, the temperature of this body of water, in the operation of the device, being gradually lowered to a point at which it remains practically constant. There is therefore surrounding the air conduits a body of coldliquid suffi cient in quantity to continuously absorb the heat from the air. In the meantime pure air to be supplied to the several rooms of the structure 1s caused to traverse the airconduits 7 under natural or ositive draft, and is rapidl cooled b trans erence of heat to the liqui surroun ing the air-conduits. The cool and dry air passes by flues 17 to for distribution to the several rooms as required. In case it is desired to distribute cool air containing an increased roportion of moisture, this may be effecte by opening one or all of the gates 11, thereby permittin the moisture-laden air from the interior of the casing 1 to pass into the air-conduits. At the same time the damper 5 may be wholly or partially closed, and by a suitable regulation of the dampers or gates 5, 'Il, any desired proportion of moisture may be introduced into the air traversing the air-conduits.

While I have illustrated a specific form and arrangement of cooling vessels, it will be understood that these Wlll be adapted in number, arrangement and capacity to the Iclaim:-

1. An air-cooling apparatus comprising a vessel adapted to contain liquid, means for supplying water to the exterior surface of em vessel, means for forcing a current of air against the same to promote evaporation of the water, openended conduits for air passing througlf said vessel, and fiues for receiving and delivering air to and from the conduits.

2. An air-cooling apparatus comprising a vessel adapted to contain liquid, means for the exterior surface of said vessel, means for forcing a current of air against the same to promote evaporation of water, open-ended conduits for air passing through said vessel, fines for receiving and delivering air to and from the conduits, and means for collecting water and a pump for forcing it back to the supply. i

and flues for receiving and delivering air to and from the conduit-s.

4. An air-cooling apparatus comprising a vessel ada ted to contain liquid, porous material on t e outside of the receptacle, means for supplying water thereto, means for forcing a current of air against the same to promote evaporation of Water, open-ended conduits for air passing through said vessel, "fines for receiving and delivering air to and from the conduits and means for collecting water and a pump for forcing it back to the supply.

5. An air-coolin apparatus comprising a chamber, a vessel t ierein adapted to contain liquid, means for supplying water to the exterior of said vessel and for forcing a current of air against the same to promote evaporation, open-ended conduits for air passing through said vessel, fines for receiving and delivering air to and from the conduits, and a valve-c ontrolled opening from the chamber into the receivin airflue.

6. An air-coo ing apparatus comprising a plurality of su erposed vessels, a porous covering external yapplied to each vessel, means for supplying water to the up 'ermost vessel and for directing a current of air upon the vessels to promote evaporation of the water, air conduits-traversing said vessels, and air flues connecting said conduits.

7. An air-cooling apparatus comprising a plurality of superposed vessels of progressively increasing size, a porous covering externally applied to each-vessel, means for supplying water to the uppermost vessel and returning excess water thereto, means for directing a current of air upon the vessels to promote evaporation of the "water, air conduits traversing said vessels, and a body of liquid within each vessel surrounding said airconduits. i

8. In an air-cooling apparatus, a vessel comprising a plurality of abutting watertight sections, open-ended air conduits in each of said sections, and tube sheets for supporting the conduits of adjacentsections.

In testimony whereof, I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

C. P. TOWNSEND, Cans. H. POTTER. 

